DoE  OneShot series to The Ghost Walks Again
by Marzena
Summary: I got inpired by another story I've read here. This is a series of one-shorts following Phantom's "death" in this episode. Please be warned that I've created my own DoE characters over the years and that those will feature here as well.
1. Heroes Don't Die

**Synopsis:** The whole „The Ghost Walks Again" scenario. Apparently the Phantom is dead … let's follow a series of one-shots centered around that. (You might want to catch the episodes "The Ghost Walks Again" on Youtube or DVD for not everything is mentioned here. Althought as few things have been changed like Jedda disrooting a tree or Partha fighting a roboship from the ground because those weren't really realistic scenarios)

**Disclaimer:** The original DoE characters do not belong to me and I'm not making any money with this story. I'm just having fun. The others characters present in this story are my very own which I created over the years for the DoE fandom.

**Heroes don't die**

Silence greeted her announcement, and uncomfortable glances were shared. Amy had tears in her eyes, Mandrake took off his topper, and even the scarcely audible noises Dynak usually made seemed a lot less noisy right now. The Phantom – dead? No, it couldn't be …

Then, Sheila rushed forward, taking Jedda into her arms, holding her close. And for a moment, Jedda allowed herself to rest, to give up control, to let herself go.

„Are you ..." Flash slowly cleared his throat, obviously not wanting to say it, „ ... I mean, did you make sure he's ..."

„Did I make sure he's really dead?" With swollen eyes, Jedda looked over Sheila's shoulder in his direction, her gaze fixated on him. „Of course I made sure my father is really dead, Flash. I went down to that rocky gorge where he fell down into. I saw those deadly white water rapids with my very own eyes. I flew the Skull Copter all along the gorge, as deep down as I was able to. I couldn't see anything expect deadly rocks and deadly currents. If the fall from that height didn't kill him, the rapids sure did. Anything else you want to know, Flash?"

He sure looked uncomfortable now. „No, Jedda, I don't. I just ... I guess I just had to make sure ..."

"I know." She swallowed hard, still holding on to Sheila. She didn't cry anymore, but her red and swollen eyes told them that she'd done her share of crying on her way back to Monitor. "I don't blame you for asking, Flash, because I kept asking myself the same question over and over again. I flew along the gorge time and time again, hoping to see anything besides the occasional log or rock to pop up between the waves, but ..."

"I'm so sorry, Jedda", Amy interrupted, walking up to her and giving her a hug. "If there's anything I can do for you, please just say so."

"You can't bring my father back, can you?" Jedda sadly asked back, sighing.

Amy just shook her head, and Jedda looked down for a moment. Then she took a deep breath and stepped away from Sheila and Amy, holding up something she'd been clutching in her shaking hands. It was dark, heavy and apparently not in a good condition.

"I found this, down at the riverbank", she quietly said. "I landed there, hoping that the currents might … you know, usually pieces of wood, garbage and rock end up being washed up there, so I thought, maybe ..."

"You didn't find the Phantom", Lothar quickly interjected, carefully avoiding saying anything about a body, or worse, body parts, torn apart by the deadly rocks down in the gorge.

"That's good!" April said, looking up from her seat in front of Dynak X, where she sat next to a very pale-looking Rick. "That means, officially, Phantom's still missing, and not, you know ..."

"Dead", Jedda slowly said, clutching the messy-looking thing in her hand even tighter.

"What have you got there?" Sheila asked, obviously trying to steer away the conversation from words like 'dead'.

"Father's belt", Jedda whispered, holding up the black thing, now torn and messy, and the skull-emblem that had always decorated the front was missing.

In a way, finding the belt, and in this condition, was worse than finding Phantom's dead body. So obviously he had been caught up in the deadly currents down in the gorge. His clothes had probably been torn apart, and as for his body ... it hadn't washed up on the riverbank, so it had probably been drowned all the way, maybe ended up stuck between two rocks underwater, with no way out …

"Jedda, I'm so ..."

"Don't!" Sharply, Jedda interrupted before Sheila could say anything more. Still holding the belt, she took a few steps toward the door. "I ... I have to be alone for a while. I have to think. I have to ..."

"Of course you do, honey", Sheila immediately said. "You take your time, okay? And we'll all be here for you if you need us."

"Thank you", Jedda answered, now barely holding back the tears again.

Rick stood up, obviously wanting to comfort Jedda, but Sheila shook her head. She waited until the automatic doors had closed behind the poor girl, then she went over to her step-son.

"I think we should leave her alone for now", she said. "She needs time to sort this out, to come to terms with it, to fully comprehend what has happened."

Silence again, but then Mandrake nodded in agreement, and slowly, so did the others. They barely spoke. The Phantom, dead, just like that. They were barely able to comprehend that themselves, let alone accept it.

"He can't just be dead", Kshin finally whispered, clinging to Mandrake. "He's a hero. He can't be dead. Heroes don't die. Not just like that."

Mandrake put his hands on Kshin's shoulders in comfort, and nobody really knew what to say to Kshin's words. Yes, Phantom had been a true hero, although he would have denied that. And yes, heroes weren't supposed to die like that. Let alone die at all.

And then April started to hammer away at Dynak's keyboard, and very slowly, each of them tried to focus on doing something. Sheila turned around for Flash, but instead, she caught side of her sister, standing all the way in the back, her head held up high as usual, a stony expression on her face.

"Are you okay?" Sheila quietly asked, walking over to her.

"Now why wouldn't I be?" Hadea calmly replied.

"Because no one of us is", Sheila curtly replied, but Hadea just ignored her and walked out of the room.


	2. Destiny

**Synopsis:** The whole „The Ghost Walks Again" scenario. Apparently the Phantom is dead … let's follow a series of one-shots centered around that.

**Disclaimer:** The original DoE characters do not belong to me and I'm not making any money with this story. I'm just having fun. The others characters present in this story are my very own which I created over the years for the DoE fandom.

**Destiny**

Flash looked up from the keyboard when Sheila walked in.

"Did she eat something?" he wanted to know.

His wife shook her head, looking rather worried. "No. I brought her some leftovers from dinner, but I doubt that she's eaten anything yet. She's a mess. And really, who can blame her?"

"She's got the right to be a mess", he agreed. "My children both were a mess after Dale died. So was I. Just imagine if it would have been Dale and me both, and Rick and April would have been left behind, dealing with it ... I don't want to think about it, I just can't. We have to show Jedda that she's still got family – us. All of us."

Now smiling, Sheila looked at him. "And this is just one of the things I love about you", she stated.

He took hold of her hand, and for a while, they just stood there, thankful that they still had each other, that it hadn't been one of them dying today.

"Did she talk to you?" Flash finally asked.

"No." Sighing, Sheila shook her head. "I knocked at her door, I tried to convince her to eat something. She barely let me in. I tried to talk to her about what happened, but she cut me off mid-sentence, telling me something about feeling tired and wanting to go to sleep."

"She's crying her eyes out in there."

"Of course she does. And I feel so helpless, knowing there's nothing I can do for her. I also feel like letting the Phantom down. Surely, he wouldn't want to see her like this. He wouldn't have wanted her to go through this, he ..."

"He would be very please to know you're doing your best to comfort her and be there for her", Flash interjected, getting up from his chair and putting his arms around his wife. "You're doing great, Sheila. Honestly. Jedda suffered a great loss today, but it isn't her loss alone. Phantom was our friend, our teammate, our family too. We're all suffering. Not as much as Jedda, but still. It is hard for all of us. And you should give yourself a break for tonight. Maybe what Jedda needs tonight is solitude, not comfort."

"I hope you're right. I feel like I'm abandoning her."

"You don't. But if it makes you feel better, ask Rick to look after her. You know he wants to. He's worried, and he cares a lot about Jedda. Maybe she'd rather talk to him. They're close, and he's lost his mother. Maybe she thinks Rick can relate better."

"Maybe."

Sheila didn't look too convinced. Was someone playing mother hen really what Jedda needed right now? If it had been Amy, Sheila wouldn't have hesitated answering this with a clear Yes. But Amy wouldn't have locked herself in her room. She would have let Sheila in, taking comfort in her being there while sobbing. But Jedda was different. Her whole upbringing was different.

"What are you thinking?" Flash wanted to know, studying her face.

"I'm just thinking, maybe I'm not who Jedda needs right now. She was never one to be huddled over. She's stronger than that. She was raised for occasions like this, Flash. It's her family's legacy. The Phantom dies, the heir takes over. The Phantom always fought crime and injustice of all sorts. It's similar to what we're doing here. Dead lurks around every corner, and Jedda was raised to be aware of that. Yes, she's hurt, she's suffering, she's sad. But she wasn't raised to sit around and weep. She was raised to get out there and confront her problems."

"She can't confront this problem."

"Oh yes, she can. Starting with facing a life without her father."

Warningly, he lifted an eyebrow. "You're not suggesting ..."

"No, of course not. She's way to young for that. But I think she needs to get out. It isn't in her nature to lock herself in her room and grief silently. She needs to come face to face with what has happened, and we need to be right beside her, sharing her experience."

There was a knock at the door, and after Flash called 'Come in!', Mandrake appeared, looking rather comfortable in his leisure suit, but still looking unusually pale.

"Before you ask, yes, I have been checking up on Jedda, and no, she didn't want to talk to me", Sheila immediately said, almost sounding a bit defensive.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ..." He let his words trail off, looking very worried. "It's just that, well, Amy just had a vision."

Flash and Sheila exchanged a look, now suddenly very alert. Amy's visions weren't about tomorrow's weather. They were mostly very serious and very often indicated grave danger.

"She saw Jedda", Mandrake nervously said, seemingly not quite knowing how to say whatever he had to tell them.

"Was she okay?" Sheila quickly asked.

"Well, I guess. She was wearing purple, Sheila."

Confused, Sheila starred at him. So what? Jedda often wore purple. Purple was the signature color of the Phantom, and ...

Judging her horrified expression correctly, Mandrake nodded.

"Yes, I'm afraid so. Jedda will take over the mantle of the Phantom."

"No, she can not!" Flash interjected. "She's just a kid. She's the same age Rick is. She is ..."

"Not a kid", Sheila slowly said. "And very well trained for this."

"It's her destiny", Mandrake concluded. "It's only a natural choice for her."

"But certainly not one she should make now! Not so soon after ... well, after it happened! This isn't good! She should take some time to think about this. She should talk to us!"

"Apparently, she's not going to. So maybe we need to talk to her."


	3. Decisions Are Made

**Synopsis:** The whole „The Ghost Walks Again" scenario. Apparently the Phantom is dead … let's follow a series of one-shots centered around that.

**Disclaimer:** The original DoE characters do not belong to me and I'm not making any money with this story. I'm just having fun. The others characters present in this story are my very own which I created over the years for the DoE fandom.

**Decisions Are Made**

The next morning, Amy's vision was all over Headquarters. And they didn't like one bit.

"If I could just talk to her", Rick said.

April rolled her eyes at him. "And do what?" she shot back. "Looking at her with puppy dog-eyes is surely not very helpful, brother."

"You being a bitch isn't helpful either", he muttered.

"Cut it out, you two!" Flash shook his head at both of his kids. "We've lost a close friend and teammate. Don't you have any respect for that?"

April and Rick didn't say anything more after that, but when Rick passed Amy down in the mansion later, he stepped in her way.

"Are you sure?" he asked, and she didn't have to inquire what he was talking about. It was written all over his face.

"Well, she was wearing the uniform", she replied. "What else could it possibly mean?"

Unfortunately, Rick didn't have an answer to that, and neither did LJ, to whom he spoke later.

"You know Jedda as good as I do, Rick", LJ said. "It does seem like her to do something like that. I've heard Sheila talking to Mandrake and Lothar this morning. She mentioned twice that Jedda was raised for this very moment. It's different for us, Rick. We might have footsteps of our fathers we can follow one day, but Jedda ... she's got this whole legacy-thing on her shoulders. She's next in line. Without her, there will be no more Phantom legacy."

"I wish you hadn't said this", Rick sighed. "It's so absolutely true. She'll walk right in here any second now, declaring that she's ready to fulfill her destiny. And it's not even our place to stop her."

"Well, I guess there's no harm in talking to her, if you think it might help", LJ said, but sounding doubtful. He already knew the outcome of this conversation. Jedda could be very stubborn and once she'd set her mind on something, she usually pursued that down to the very end.

Worried, Rick went off in search of Jedda, carefully avoiding his sister on the way. He didn't feel up for April's mockery right now.

Walking down the corridor to Jedda's room he met Sheila, and his step-mother's expression told him all.

"You talked to her?"

"I did."

"Amy was right then?"

"Oh, she certainly was. When I walked in, Jedda had the uniform in her hand, holding it close against her body. She didn't even seem surprised to see me walking in. It's like she expected it."

"She's her father's daughter all right." He looked down at the polished floor. "I came here to try to talk her out of it, but somehow I don't think I can anymore."

"You can try", Sheila replied, but she didn't sound very encouraging.

Rick took a few steps closer to Jedda's door, and Sheila kept walking in the other direction. She was very worried. Jedda was being stubborn, but Sheila could understand the reason behind her decisions. Not only was Jedda the only one left to fulfill the Phantom legacy, but also in doing so, the young girl obviously tried to keep the memory of her father as close as possible. Taking over his duties also meant that somehow, he'd remain by her side.

Mandrake appeared in front of her, and she shot him a dark look.

"If one more person will ask me about Jedda, I'm going to scream", she said through gritted teeth.

"Well, I wasn't going to ask." He smiled at her. "And you, my dear, should get yourself some hot tea or coffee and sit down for a while. The situation is not going to change with you fretting over it."

"I'm not fretting."

"Whatever you say, dear."

Mandrake escorted her to the cozy salon and some time later they were both drinking Mandrake's favorite English tea. Indeed, Sheila felt a bit better now.

"She's taking off", she said, looking out of the big windows, but not really seeing the beautiful view of Mandrake's gardens out there. "She's taking off on her own to face her father's enemies, to take over his mission, but ... she's a young girl, Mandrake. She think she's ready for this, but she's not."

"You can't stop her, Sheila. And neither can I. In fact, I've tried too. I offered to come along, to aide her, to support her."

"Let me guess – she refused?"

"She's not willing to accept help from any of us. It wasn't the way the Phantom handled things. She wants to do this on her own. She thinks she has to. She wants to make her father proud."

"There's nothing wrong with accepting help, Mandrake!"

"I know that. And so does Jedda, but ... well, she's grieving, she's hurt, she's in pain. She focuses all that on battling her father's enemies, the ones responsible. She can't help it. It's a natural reaction."

"But ..."

"She doesn't think we understand. He was our teammate, our friend, yes. But he wasn't family. Right now, Jedda feels isolated with her pain. She wants to confront it, but I have to say, this is not the right way. There will be too much pain and loss to focus on. The enemy will soon have the upper hand."

"Did you tell her that?"

"I tried, but ..."

Sheila bit her lip, putting her cup carefully back down on the table. "She needs someone who can relate, and someone to look after her", she slowly repeated.

Inquiringly, Mandrake looked at her. "You seem like you have an idea?"

"More like ... a hunch. There's someone here who's grieving more than she'll ever let on. And it's someone who never let emotions cloud her better judgment."

There was a glint in Mandrake's dark eyes, and he looked at Sheila, his hand with the teacup paused in mid-air. "You're not saying ..."

"I'm saying exactly what you're thinking right now."

"Oh, but she'll never ..."

"She will. Either on her own, or I will drag her out to do it."


	4. Keeping Jedda Safe

**Synopsis:** The whole „The Ghost Walks Again" scenario. Apparently the Phantom is dead … let's follow a series of one-shots centered around that.

**Disclaimer:** The original DoE characters do not belong to me and I'm not making any money with this story. I'm just having fun. The others characters present in this story are my very own which I created over the years for the DoE fandom.

**Keeping Jedda Safe**

"Absolutely not."

Hadea stood by the big windows in her room, her arms crossed over her chest defensively, her blue eyes shooting daggers at Sheila for coming to her with something like this.

"Absolutely yes", Sheila insisted, taking a few steps in her sister's direction, glaring at her. "You are the only one who can do this, and you will do it."

"Why should I?" Hadea snapped back. "And what makes you even think the girl will listen to me? I don't think she likes me very much. I'm probably the last person she wants to interfere."

"And yet you're the only one who could get through to her", Sheila insisted. "You and Jedda, you're not that different. In fact, I would think the two of you are very much alike. You're both grieving. And you both keep shutting people out."

"I'm not grieving!" Hadea fiercely replied, now looking even more defensively. The look spoke for itself.

"No, you're a regular little Miss Sunshine", Sheila shot back and rolled her eyes. To get through to Hadea was like trying to get through stone walls sometimes.

"Honestly, Sheila, I ..."

"Honestly?" Sheila raised an eyebrow. "Well, you want to talk honestly, then let's talk honestly. You had a history with the Phantom, you had a thing with the Phantom, he meant something to you, and now you're devastated and you're hurting and you're grieving. Am I right so far?"

Hadea opened her mouth but in the end, she gave in, sighed and walked away from the window. She let herself fall into the nearest armchair and buried her face in her palms for a moment. Then, looking up at her sister again, she merely nodded.

"I'm sorry", Sheila said, coming over to her and putting her hand on her sister's shoulder in comfort. "You should not have to go through this. And I wouldn't ask you to put yourself out there, but … we're all really worried about Jedda. If she faces the situation with anger and devastation and maybe even a longing for revenge, she won't win. She can't win. We can't withhold her from her destiny, but we can keep her safe. And we need your help in doing so, Hadea. Please. If you don't want to do it for Jedda, then do it for the Phantom. He would have wanted her to be safe."

A moment of understanding between the two sisters passed. Then Hadea got out of the armchair, facing the window.

„What's the girl going to do?" she quietly asked.

„Finding out what's going on at the secret hiding place of the Falou tribe", Sheila replied. „You know, Jedda and Phantom had been on a mission to see the Falou. There's something going on there, and since the Phantom's been protecting the Falou for centuries, I'm sure Jedda will continue doing so. Her father died trying to find out what's going on. So whoever's behind the attack on the Falou – Jedda will face them. And right now, she's in a bad position if she wants to win."

The Phantom had died while trying to fight off an attack on the Falou. He'd been getting himself on one of the enemy ships but had to abandon that plan and jump off, falling into the gorge by doing so. Still, he'd managed to almost save himself but then he'd gotten hit by a laser weapon which resulted in his final fall – all the way down into the gorge, a fall into certain death witnessed by his daughter all the way up in the skull copter.

"Did Jedda say anything about who she thinks is responsible?" Hadea asked, trying to think the whole thing over, now that she was going to get involved.

"Not much. They paid a visit to the Falou and saw a hovercraft leaving but the Falou apparently didn't know about that. And when they went to see them again to get at the bottom of this, the Falou were being attacked", Sheila explained. She'd gotten very little of this from Jedda. It was bits and pieces Dynak had gathered and Flash had been told about by the Phantom himself before he and his daughter had gone on their second trip to the Falou.

"The Falou are the ones with the life-saving elixir, aren't they?" Hadea inquired, pacing along in the room. "So my guess would be that someone's after the elixir."

"We were only told that the Falou are protecting a secret and that the Phantom's protecting them. If there's a powerful elixir, my guess is nobody's supposed to know about that", Sheila reminded her, eyebrows raised.

"I'm the Queen of Netherworld. There's very little about such things that I don't know."

"Don't tell that to Jedda. She might think you're after whatever the Falou are protecting. And I wouldn't put it beneath you, sister."

Immediately, Hadea stopped pacing and turned to face her sister, glaring at her. "If I had wanted that elixir, I would have made it mine a long time ago. But since I'm neither sick nor dying, I never had any use for it and I still don't. But you know as well as I do who might have an interest in it – even if he only wants it to bargain with someone else."

"Father", Sheila slowly said, processing the thought. Yes, it did make sense. And if Hadea knew, others could as well, including Ming the Merciless.

"Indeed."

"That makes protecting Jedda all the more important", Sheila reminded her, giving her a look. This was a mission intended for watching over Jedda. A face-off between Hadea and their father wasn't part of the plan. Getting their hands on anything valuable the Falou might posses wasn't either. With someone like Hadea, you had to make sure she knew what the plan was.

"Don't worry, Sheila. I have it under control", Hadea replied with a tight smile, obviously reading her sister's thoughts. Although she was a schemer and not exactly the world's most honest person – and way to power-hungry for her own good sometimes – underneath it all she was a good person. But most of the time, she kept that side of her too well hidden.

"I really hope so. Don't screw this one up, Hadea. If you do, Jedda will pay for it."

"I won't", Hadea firmly stated, standing in the middle of the room, her head held up high and her gaze directed outside. But Sheila knew she wasn't looking out of the window. She was seeing the Phantom. And, hopefully, promising him to keep his daughter safe.

Later, when Sheila walked into Monitor, she saw Flash, Lothar and Mandrake working on something with Dynak. She joined them, and when she felt Mandrake's gaze linger upon her with an unspoken question, she slowly nodded.

"We have to find … the body", Flash told his wife, avoiding her gaze. It was still so hard for all of them. And talking about it made it even harder because it also made them face the cruel reality – that the Phantom was really, truly and forever gone.

She just nodded, not knowing what to say. Would it be better not to find the body and still have some hope or to find it and have at least some clarity?

"So … she's in?" Mandrake quietly asked when they finally had a moment for themselves.

"She is", Sheila nodded.

He raised his eyebrows. "But can she control herself?"

She didn't blame him for asking. They were talking about the Queen of Netherworld, after all.

"She will", she firmly replied. "For Phantom's sake."


	5. Unlikely Allies

**Synopsis:** The whole „The Ghost Walks Again" scenario. Apparently the Phantom is dead … let's follow a series of one-shots centered around that.

**Disclaimer:** The original DoE characters do not belong to me and I'm not making any money with this story. I'm just having fun. The others characters present in this story are my very own which I created over the years for the DoE fandom.

**Unlikely Allies**

"What are you doing here!"

Walking in, ready to take the Skull Copter to fly back to the secret hiding place of the Falou, fully dressed in the purple Phantom getup, Jedda came to an abrupt halt when she saw Queen Hadea standing next to the Skull Copter, wearing one of her revealing white dresses, holding the staff that carried the magic of Netherworld.

"Now what do you think?" Hadea curtly replied, not moving an inch.

"Whatever it is, it will have to wait. I am leaving now", Jedda said, and stepping closer, she opened one of the doors of the copter. But to her surprise, Hadea reached over and slammed it shut again.

Irritated, Jedda looked up. She really didn't know what to make of Hadea. The woman was the only one that hadn't reached out to her after she'd come home with the devastating news. And she chose now of all moments to make conversation? Or rather, to force conversation?

"What do you want, Hadea?"

"Isn't it obvious?" the Queen of Netherworld asked back. "I'm joining you, girl."

She – what! Stunned, Jedda stood still for a moment. She certainly hadn't expected this. Why would she want to come – which was out of the question anyway!

"No", the girl firmly replied, glaring at the older woman. "And now please move aside and make way. I need to leave immediately."

But Hadea again didn't move an inch. "That is not up to discussion, Jedda Walker", she stated. "If anyone's leaving, it will be the two of us."

Finally, Jedda's temper exploded. She didn't mean to. True, she didn't like Hadea very much, but since the woman was part of the Defenders of the Earth and Sheila's sister she'd been nothing but polite around her. But right now it was all too much. She was the Phantom now. She had a mission. And the one thing standing between her and that mission was Queen Hadea, blocking her way to the Skull Copter.

"Get out of my way! If I want to leave, you cannot stop me! You don't have the right to stop me, Queen Hadea! So do me a favor, mind your own business!"

"That's exactly what I'm doing right now."

Not losing her icy cool for one second, Hadea grabbed Jedda's arm and forced the girl to look up to her. Jedda was rather tall herself, but to a really tall woman like Hadea she still had to look up. That made her pissed again. She was getting pissed easily these days.

"Tell me what you are feeling right now, Jedda", Hadea demanded to know, not letting go of her arm.

"Annoyance with you?" Jedda snapped, glaring at her. What did she want?

"You're angry", Hadea stated matter-of-factly. "And you're sad and you're devastated and you're ..."

Finally Jedda managed to get free, stepping back but still holding Hadea's gaze. She would not give in to that woman. She was way to proud for that.

"Of course I am! My father just died, remember!"

"And that's just my point. You are in no position to go out there on a mission, facing the ones that are responsible for what happened."

"So you decided to, what? Accompany me and babysit me? Did the others put you up to this!"

She was pretty sure they had. To give them some credit, they hadn't much tried to talk her out of becoming the Phantom. But her going on his mission hadn't sit well with any of them. Rick had tried to offer her to come along, but she had politely declined. It was something she had to do on her own. But now Hadea didn't even ask, she just assumed that Jedda would take her along.

"You're the Phantom now", Hadea replied without answering her question. "That's a right that's absolutely yours and a choice only you can make. It's what you were trained for. But it's also a responsibility you have to grow into and a title you have to earn by making the right choices. And storming into battle because it's what keeps you from crying all night isn't the right choice. And neither is avenging your father because that's the last thing he would want for you to do."

Jedda listened to all this in silence, and she was smart enough to know that what Hadea said was right. But she was also stubborn – and the Queen of Netherworld of all people giving her advice on how to handle things?

"You're right", she finally replied. "I am the Phantom now. And I can assure you, I'm not seeking revenge. But someone has to protect the Falou. This has always been the Phantom's job. And now it's all up to me."

"And rightfully so. Your father would be proud. But you don't even know what's going on there. And just to prevent you from making a mistake ..."

"I'm not going to make a ..."

The Queen sighed, and, rolling her eyes, she stepped aside and opened the door again that led inside the cockpit.

"After you, darling."

"Didn't you hear me say ..."

"I heard you. Now, after you."

For a moment, Jedda considered leaving her and trying to sneak out later. But then she reminded herself that she was an adult now. The Ghost Who Walked did not sneak out. He took his copter when going on a mission like all the other adult Defenders did, too. She would not start her first job as the Phantom with behaving like a teenager. She had too much pride for that.

"I'll take you along", she said between gritted teeth, knowing there wasn't much she could do about it. She couldn't possibly attack the other woman, although she would have loved to. But it was out of the question to attack a teammate, no matter how annoying she was. Besides, Hadea was way to powerful to mess around with. And an action like that would only prove to her and the others that Jedda wasn't ready for the job.

"I never expected anything else", Hadea replied, nodding, obviously satisfied with the outcome of the situation. She climbed into the copter right after Jedda did, leaving the girl to handle the controls, something which Jedda was thankful for. She just couldn't sit around doing nothing during the rather long flight, only having her thoughts for company. And knowing Hadea, there wouldn't be much conversation.

"You do know it's a secret hiding place?" she asked, a warning tone in her voice. Technically, the Defenders already knew the place because Dynak kept track of all their vehicles and their whereabouts and because they had to search the gorge for …

"Don't worry, girl. Your secret's safe with me", Hadea said, interrupting Jedda's thoughts just at the right time.

Jedda just gave her a knowing look – Hadea's track record with secrets wasn't exactly the best – and then the copter took off, leaving Monitor and heading towards their destination.


	6. In The Jungle

**Synopsis:** The whole „The Ghost Walks Again" scenario. Apparently the Phantom is dead … let's follow a series of one-shots centered around that.

**Disclaimer:** The original DoE characters do not belong to me and I'm not making any money with this story. I'm just having fun. The others characters present in this story are my very own which I created over the years for the DoE fandom.

**In The Jungle**

Well, if Jedda had one thing of the whole Phantom thing down it was the traveling in silence. That she had in common with her father who Hadea had been traveling with before quite a few times – and the Phantom wasn't exactly known for his constant chatter. But then again, she wasn't either. And sitting here with Jedda in complete silence wasn't awkward at all. In fact, it proved to be a refreshing change from the lively mansion.

"You will not interfere with my business", Jedda had warned her just before landing the copter on the hidden beach where the Falou were supposed to meet them.

Oh, Hadea hat no intention to do that as long as Jedda was indeed capable to handle herself and make smart decisions. She knew most of the Defenders of the Earth thought that she was the wrong choice here. That she would make matters worse, offend the Falou and ruin everything for Jedda. Well, she didn't give a damn about what anyone else thought. She was here for one reason only, and that reason was dead. This was one last thing she could do for him, and she would.

Jedda brought the copter down safely and they got out. It didn't take very long for members of the Falou to appear, bringing along their chief, a middle-aged man with long hair who wore colorful robes. To Hadea's surprise, the Falou were all white. She had assumed they would be natives, like the tribes the Phantom protected in the African jungle.

"Jedda!"

One of the younger men came up to greet the girl, but Jedda held up her hand. It was a firm gesture that made the young one stop immediately.

"I am no longer Jedda", she announced. "I am now the Phantom."

The chief looked very pleased about this, and some of his men nodded in agreement. There weren't any women present except Jedda and Hadea. The Falou eyed the Queen with distrust and curiosity, so Jedda had to explain to them why she had brought her along.

"Hadea is one of the people my father and I were working together with", she stated. "She can be trusted to keep your secret."

Now that was something Hadea didn't get to hear very often out of anyone's mouth, let alone Jedda's. She gave a little smirk. Did Jedda just lie to the chief or did she truly believe Hadea could be trusted with this one?

"Very well", the chief replied, but he didn't seem to trust Hadea yet just because Jedda had said so. The girl might not have realized that yet but just because she wore the costume she didn't have her father's authority.

"Any sign of the evil strangers?" Jedda now asked, steering the conversation away from Hadea.

"No, Phantom", the chief spoke again. "Not yet."

Then suddenly there was a noise up in the air that grew louder and louder. Hadea immediately realized what it was. And sure enough there was a hovercraft coming down, loaded with dangerous looking men. They were shooting at the Falou, but those shots were only warning shots for they were clearly aimed on the ground near them but not on anyone in particular.

When the hovercraft was near enough to the ground, a male voice could be heared over the speakers. "My name is Madden", it said. "And this is your last warning. Hand over the health elixir or you will all die!"

So it was the elixir they were after! And Madden … that name rang a bell, too. There was a multimillionaire who had built a large mansion in Central City recently, destroying a nice public park while doing so and enraging the people with this choice for the man barely ever lived in the building anyway. Was this the man in the hovercraft? Sure, he would have enough money to organize an attack on the Falou and even enough money to bribe someone to get to know their hiding place, but if it was him, what did he want with the elixir?

"Maybe we should consider it, father", the young man who'd greeted Jedda earlier said to the chief, stepping up behind him. He looked worried and rather nervous.

"Never!" the chief spat, glaring at his son for this suggestion. Then he turned around to face Jedda. "Phantom, we must guard the volcano! It is where the elixir is hidden!"

Looking up, Hadea got a clear view of the said volcano. Then, Jedda spoke again, clearly having a plan.

"That man doesn't know it's there. We will lead them away from the volcano! Come on! Everyone into the jungle!"

She started running, not doubting for one moment that everyone else – including Hadea – would follow her. And yes, follow her they did, starting with the chief and his son, and the few other tribe members who had come to greet them were right behind them. So Hadea followed them as well.

They were pursued immediately by the men from the hovercraft. Pursued and shot at, both which Hadea didn't take too kindly to. One of the Falou tribe members already fell down, fresh blood visible on his pale body. Running hadn't been such a good idea. But then again, if they had stayed, they would have gotten shot at as well. The decision had been up to the chief, and he'd chosen not to bargain – not even tried to pretend to bargain to buy them some time. That's what Hadea would have done. But then, people like the Phantom or the Falou tribe's chief weren't much into pretending.

"Now would be a good time to call upon the powers of ten tigers, you know", Hadea said, catching up with Jedda who'd taken the lead.

Jedda nodded, but there was hesitation in her eyes which Hadea could see despite the black mask covering her eyes. And she understood. Calling upon the power of the Phantom – it would make everything more real and it would make the Phantom irrevocably dead.

"You were preparing to battle for the Falou, Jedda", Hadea sternly reminded her, still running. "You cannot have thought that you could avoid using your power. One is already dead. Don't let ..."

"_I know_", the girl hissed, narrowing her green eyes at Hadea and then turning around, closing her eyes for a moment. And then she was ready. Her voice was firm and strong, and her eyes were blazing with anger directed at those men who were hunting them down like animals.

"By jungle law, I call upon the power of ten tigers!"

And then … instead of running into action, the girl just stood there, staring, with Hadea and the Falou looking at her expectantly. Why wasn't she doing anything?

"Jedda?" Hadea softly prompted her.

When she finally spoke, her voice was a mere whisper. "There's something wrong", she quietly said. "I don't feel anything. It did not work. The power did not work!"


	7. Massacre

**Synopsis:** The whole „The Ghost Walks Again" scenario. Apparently the Phantom is dead … let's follow a series of one-shots centered around that.

**Disclaimer:** The original DoE characters do not belong to me and I'm not making any money with this story. I'm just having fun. The others characters present in this story are my very own which I created over the years for the DoE fandom.

**Massacre**

"What do you mean, it didn't work?" Hadea asked, sounding irritated. "It has to work, doesn't it? You are the Phantom now. The power is yours."

Yes, that's how it was supposed to be. The phantom died, the heir took over – and that included the power. But Jedda hadn't felt anything after speaking the words. She didn't feel stronger, faster, more agile. She still felt like young Jedda Walker, the Phantom's daughter.

"It did not work!" she exclaimed again. "I don't feel any different!"

"Well, maybe you're not supposed to", Hadea argued. "You never used those powers. Maybe it doesn't feel different. Maybe you just have to act and they'll work."

"That's a bit of a risk, isn't it?" the chief interrupted. "If she doesn't have the powers and she runs straight into battle, she could be killed and then we'll have no Phantom at all!"

That got him one of Hadea's famous icy glares for practically putting having a Phantom here to protect them over Jedda just being safe. But Jedda didn't mind. The chief only met her a few days ago for the very first time. Why should be care about her more than about protecting his people, his tribe, his tribe's legacy?

And Jedda wasn't stupid enough to take Hadea's advice. Although she probably would have if she hadn't been told by her father quite a few times how using the powers felt.

"I'm supposed to feel them", she said between gritted teeth.

"Then why don't you?" the chief's son asked, now catching up with them as well.

"Because she's still hurting and still not accepting what has happened", Hadea quietly said, turning around and holding up her staff, deflecting some of the laser blasts that were fired at them with the power of Netherworld while trying to explain and use her mind-control on the attackers at the same time, which didn't work too well. Only one of them was under Hadea's control, dropping his weapon.

"That is not true, I ..."

"It is. That, and the fact that maybe you have to believe in those powers before they are any use to you. Remember the countless times Amy's powers got out of control when she felt upset? It's the same with every power in the world, Jedda. They won't work until you fully embrace them, become one with them, feel in balance with them."

The words _You're not ready_ weren't said but it was clear what Hadea meant anyway. And sadly, Jedda had to agree with her this time. She wasn't ready.

"I need that power! Now!"

"You used to be capable without any mighty powers. You're a born jungle princess, Jedda. And that's something that hasn't changed and never will."

Well, Hadea was right with that one. Maybe there had been a good reason for the others – Sheila, most likely – to send Hadea to accompany her. But whatever, this wasn't the time to think. It was the time to act.

"Jungle princess it is, then", she muttered, turning around and disappearing in the thick jungle that surrounded them. It confused their attackers but since they were primary after the Falou and their chief in particular, they didn't try to follow Jedda. Instead they were faced with Hadea's mind-control powers again. This time she had more time to concentrate and bring another few of them to their knees. Some of the Falou resorted to fighting as well.

Then Jedda jumped down from the tree she had quickly climbed, surprising the attack leader by dropping right on top of him, rolling around in the dirt with an agility that every gymnast in the world would have envied her for, kicking the weapon out of his hands and then raising her foot in a swift motion, kicking him in his face so he fell backwards with a broken, bloody nose. She heard someone behind her and whirled around, kicked another man, sending another weapon flying. So this wasn't the Phantom power and surely, her father would have been quicker to defeat those men. But right now, she knew she was doing a fine job, too.

But then the machines appeared seemingly out of nowhere, large metal things that stomped down everything that had the misfortune of standing in their way. What the …!

"Scatter!" she heard Hadea cry out and then the chief yelled something in his own language that she didn't even understand with all the horrible noise those machines made.

And scatter they did, in each and every direction, some followed by a machine, some fortunate enough to disappear into the jungle without being followed. But the jungle didn't stop these large things. They just stomped every tree and bush and rock right into the ground, leaving them crushed.

"I've got to find a way to stop these machines!" Jedda muttered to herself while running for her life.

The chief's son was pursued too. Frantically, he tried to climb onto a high rock, but the machine had already reached him. He fell, and Jedda reached him right before the machine could stomp him into the ground, racing him across the ground when suddenly, the sky was full of purple roboships, shooting down at them. Roboships! That only meant one thing – Ming the Merciless!

"Of course he had to be involved!" Hadea grumbled, now appearing out of the jungle and running towards Jedda. Her dress was slightly torn and her left shoulder was badly scratched, but otherwise she seemed alright.

Hell was breaking lose right now. The machines had startled the women and children of the tribe too as well as some elders and more young men. Everyone was running, trying not to get hit by the shots coming from above, but some were already dead on the ground. It was a massacre. The only fortunate thing was that some of the machines got hit as well, but not all of them.

_Did I bring this on_, Jedda wondered. _Did Ming somehow follow me here? Or did Hadea sell us out? Or did …_ And then it hit her, her thoughts going back to her very first conversation with Partha, the chief's son, the day she and her father had visited the Falou first.

"It was you!" she yelled at the young man, her eyes blazing with anger. "You brought that Madden guy here, and maybe even Ming!"

The young man blanched but stood his ground, shaking his head. "No! No, I swear I didn't!"

"Yes, you did! It was you! When we first talked, you mentioned television! You've been in contact with the outside world!"

Which was the one thing none of the Falou were allowed to in order to guard the secret of the elixir and the legacy of their tribe.

"You betrayed your people for your own selfish reasons! And with that you caused my father's tragic end!" she spat at him, disgusted by the choices the young man made and the results of them. Like him, she'd been raised to take over a legacy. Unlike him, she had never strayed from her destiny.

"Jedda, I swear I didn't ..."

"Enough with your lies! For your sake, help us to fight them back!"

But how she was to fight without the Phantom powers she didn't know. It was one thing to go up against armed men chasing them. That she had done countless times before with Ming's ice robots. But fighting against large machines and roboships … now that was an entirely different story!


	8. Showdown

**Synopsis:** The whole „The Ghost Walks Again" scenario. Apparently the Phantom is dead … let's follow a series of one-shots centered around that.

**Disclaimer:** The original DoE characters do not belong to me and I'm not making any money with this story. I'm just having fun. The others characters present in this story are my very own which I created over the years for the DoE fandom.

**Showdown**

There was a machine appearing right behind them and the three of them started to run again.

"Jedda, please! I'm sorry!" the young man cried, following both Jedda and Hadea deeper into the jungle.

"It's too late to be sorry now, Partha!" Jedda snapped. She'd actually liked the young man when she'd first met him but now all she felt was disappointment, annoyance and anger. How could he have done what he did!

"I want to make up for it, Jedda! What can I do!"

"Fight for your people!" she yelled back, the only thing she could think of. Really, there wasn't anything else they could go. They would fight. And most likely go down doing so.

Partha disappeared, hopefully not to run away or make things worse but to really help getting his people out of danger, especially the kids and the women.

"We need to stop those machines!" Hadea panted, coming to an abrupt stop. "Running won't do us any good. Soon we'll be exhausted and they'll catch up with us. And in the meantime, they'll stomp the whole jungle into the ground!"

There was only one thing they could do. To get the roboships' attention and then run straight towards the machines, hoping the laser blasts would hit the large targets one by one and take them out. The roboships were just that – roboships. They were machines themselves, programmed to hit the helpless victims on the ground. They wouldn't be able to make out a difference between other machines there for the same purpose and the humans they were programmed to kill. It was the only change of getting rid of the machines. And it was a dangerous and risky chance.

And one they took. It was Jedda, Hadea, the chief and some of his bravest warriors that were now running for their lives, avoiding both machines and laser blasts. Two of the Falou warriors met their end and one got badly wounded. The chief had a bleeding arm, and Hadea was slightly limping now, too. Jedda herself was dirty and dusty, tired and exhausted, her Phantom costume torn everywhere and she, too, was bleeding. But the last machine fell, taking a whole tree with it. At least the danger from the machines was gone now but the area all around them looked like a bombing had taken place. Not one standing tree left and dead and wounded people – Falou members and some of Madden's men – lying everywhere on the ground.

"Get cover!" Jedda now yelled, trying to sound strong and confident like her father would have despite everything that had just happened. "The roboships are coming down on us! Get cover!"

Fighting her way through the jungle – or what was left of this part of the jungle – Jedda then spotted the chief's son lying on the ground, badly wounded and unconscious. He held a young boy in his arms who he'd obviously trying to protect. Gently, Jedda told the boy to run for safety, to hide somewhere in the bushes where he'd be safe now that the machines were eliminated. Nodding, the boy ran and Jedda tried her best to stop the young man's bleeding.

"That was very brave of you, Partha", she told him, although she knew he couldn't hear her.

"And that very touching of you, my dear", another voice said and horrified, Jedda turned around, only to be face to face with Ming the Merciless, standing on a small hovercraft not far behind her, accompanied by heavily-armed ice robots and frostmen.

"Or should I call you Phantom now?" he continued while his hovercraft was closing in on her. "Oh, I have to say, you'd be such a disappointment to your father!"

Jedda stepped back, seeing the weapons of his guards aimed directly at her and the chief's son. There was no escape. And even if she would have been able to throw herself into the nearest bushes and disappear – she was a jungle princess, after all! - she couldn't just leave the unconscious Partha behind.

"And now everything here will be destroyed by my roboships!" Ming continued, laughing that hateful evil laugh of his that she just couldn't stand. "And with you, Jedda Walker, the line of the Phantom will end!"

Then, suddenly, there was something flying through the air, disarming the guards with a precision that took Jedda by surprise. It was Hadea's staff, the one she never parted from because doing so would also part her from the mighty powers of Netherworld. But she had parted from it and it send the weapons flying through the air, dropping on the ground.

Ming turned around, facing his eldest daughter with pure disgust in his eyes, but Hadea didn't even flinch. She didn't show any emotion at all, even when Ming commanded his guards to get her, dead or alive. She just threw him a look full of hate and then she took off into the jungle again in her torn outfit and with her limp while the ice robots and frostmen ran after her after having gathered their weapons again. Only a few remained to protect Ming, but Jedda wasn't fooled by that. There could be more of them right around the corner. But she'd done one thing though – she'd picked up Hadea's staff before any of the guards had been able to reach it.

"And that's where you're wrong, Ming", she stated, standing in front of Partha to protect him. "There will always be a Phantom!"

And suddenly, there was the Skull Copter high up in the air, firing shots at Ming's hovercraft. For a moment, Jedda thought Hadea had made it to the copter. But even without her limp she couldn't have been that fast. And whoever was in the Copter also fired shots down at an nearby area which was the direction Hadea had ran off to. Someone was protecting her from Ming's guards as well as Jedda from Ming. Could it be …?

"Father!" she gasped, hoping for the impossible. It could be true, right? They hadn't found a body yet. She knew Flash and the others had been searching. And the fact that the powers of the Phantom hadn't worked when she'd tried to use them earlier …

"So he is still alive!" Ming spat, sounding furious.

He had his guards to turn around the hovercraft to get out of the Skull Copter's shooting range. But the person in the copter was busy firing in the other direction again and even after doing so he or she didn't try to follow Ming's hovercraft. Which could mean that it was indeed the Phantom who was flying the copter. He never killed and he never aimed to kill or destroy.

Hadea appeared again with no one on her trail anyone, taking back the staff from Jedda, looking up into the sky. She didn't even glance at the wounded Partha. It just wasn't in her nature.

"Is that …!"

"I don't know … I … I hope so, but ..."

The Skull Copter rose high into the air again and flew in the direction of the volcano, now firing shots down there. For a moment, both Jedda and Hadea wondered why. There was nobody up there.

"He's destroying the elixir!" Jedda finally gasped. "So both Ming and that Madden guy will leave and have no reason to return here."

Which was probably the safest thing to do. The secret was out now. Word would spread. Even if the Falou would agree to move to another location, they would always be hunted down down, there would always be fights, wars, blood would be shed over something as powerful as an health elixir. It was something that could have done a lot of good in this world, but the world wasn't ready for it yet. Not as long as people were willing to fight wars over it.

"Ming must have realized that, too", Hadea stated. "He's taking off."

Indeed the roboships were leaving and Ming was most likely in one of them now. He hadn't known where exactly the elixir was hidden, but someone shooting laserbeams at a place where nothing was going on had been a dead giveaway. And the pilot of the copter had surely intended for Ming to realize that because he'd taken his time, firing away at the vulcano constantly until the last roboship was out of sight. Only then the copter was turned around and came back, looking for a place to land.

Some Falou appeared behind them, distressed about the destruction of their precious elixir and even more distressed to find their chief's son lying unconscious and wounded on the ground. But neither Jedda or Hadea did care for that right now.

"Let's find out", Hadea suggested, a rather guarded look on her face.

Jedda didn't even wait for Hadea to follow her. She just started running.


	9. Reunion

**Synopsis:** The whole „The Ghost Walks Again" scenario. Apparently the Phantom is dead … let's follow a series of one-shots centered around that.

**Disclaimer:** The original DoE characters do not belong to me and I'm not making any money with this story. I'm just having fun. The others characters present in this story are my very own which I created over the years for the DoE fandom.

**REUNION**

Jedda flew into her father's waiting arms the moment he stepped out of the copter. He looked horrible, with his clothes all torn, badly wounded and rather dirty. But it was the Phantom alright. And father and daughter hugged each other tightly, sharing a long moment that nobody dared to interrupt.

"I thought you're … gone!" Jedda cried, still holding her father tightly, not ever wanting to let go. "We searched and searched, but ..."

"I was unconscious, got washed up ashore pretty far from here", he replied, not letting go of her either. "Had to make my way back here through the jungle … and as you can see, I'm still not in great condition, I'm afraid. I … barely made it."

"But you did made it, father! You are alive!" she exclaimed, overjoyed and happy.

They were interrupted by Hadea dropping her staff and seating herself on a rock, sighing.

"Don't mind me, but all this standing and moving about doesn't go well with my leg at the moment, so ..."

"Hadea", the Phantom merely said, nodding his head.

"Phantom", she replied back, allowing herself a small smile. "Back from the dead, I see?"

"Barely", he said, cutting the conversation short and telling her with one little word how close a call it had been for him.

"I'm just so glad you are alive, father!" Jedda interrupted, hugging her father again.

Half an hour later they were in the half-destroyed hidden village of the Falou where a medicine man had tended to their wounds and a woman had brought them some food and water. But everyone's main concern was young Partha now, lying on the ground, his wounds tended to but still unconscious.

"He's barely alive", the medicine man announced, sounding worried.

Jedda, who'd taken the mask off now, was kneeling beside the young man. She was very pale herself, blaming herself for what had happened. If she hadn't told Partha to save his people, maybe he wouldn't be lying here right now. But then again the little boy might be dead if Partha hadn't been there to save him.

"Get the last flask of elixir from my hut!" the chief commanded one of his men. "Quickly!"

The man ran for the hut and disappeared, and the chief sighed and looked at the Phantom. "With Ming knowing about the elixir, the Falou will never again be safe. There will be no more elixir left, but just in case Ming will come looking again, we will find ourselves another home as soon as my son's well enough again."

The Phantom nodded in agreement. "With the elixir you cheated life", he told them. "We must all do the best we can with the time given to us."

Some of the Falou didn't look to happy about hearing this, but some of them nodded. None of them spoke. But Hadea was finally getting the picture.

"So the elixir makes them immortal", she stated. "They live forever!"

So it hadn't just been a mere health elixir, healing the sick and wounded. It had made them unable to age, unable to die! No, even she hadn't known about this. Otherwise … well, it was a tempting thought, wasn't it?

"That means, Partha is … ancient!"

That came from Jedda, who, obviously, had been in the dark about the true power of the elixir as well. She looked up at her father, who nodded to both what Jedda and Hadea had just said.

"That's right", he just said.

They didn't wait around for Partha to gain conscious. He would do so eventually after being healed by the elixir, and he would have some explaining to do to his people as well. But on the bright side, if there was any with so many people dead and wounded, the Falou were now finally free. They would age, but they could also join the world now and be part of it, erasing all their traces here so nobody would be able to track them down again. And if someone did, well, that was still what the Phantom was for. To protect them.

"It's time to go home, Jedda", the Phantom announced, leading the way to the Skull Copter.

"Yes, father", she agreed, following him.

Hadea did follow, too, but she kept her distance, knowing fully well that she didn't belong to their little family and never would.

There was barely room in the copter for the three of them, but they managed. Jedda proudly took the controls again, and they rose high up in the air, finally flying back home.

The Defenders were thrilled to have the Phantom back, and after the three of them – the Phantom, Jedda and Hadea – had taken a bit of a rest, they met up in Monitor again. Jedda was back to wearing civilian clothing and from the look her father gave her it was clear that he was immensely proud of her. He'd also taken a minute to thank Hadea – with a simple "thank you", but she knew him well enough to know that in a way, he was proud of her, too. And thankful for keeping his daughter safe. Although Jedda had proven to be more than capable and hadn't needed much safekeeping at all. But Hadea was glad she'd come along on the mission nevertheless.

There was a smile from Jedda as well. "So I did need a babysitter", she said, passing Hadea on her way out of the room.

"Not really", the older woman replied. "You did fine on your own. You just needed a friend."

"You're not my ..." The girl blushed, realizing what she'd been about to say was downright rude, but Hadea just laughed because that was the kind of conversation she was used to and could easily handle.

"No, I'm not", she agreed. "But we've made a pretty good team, at least that one time. And let me tell you this, Jedda Walker. You've made a very good Phantom."

And that was nothing but the truth.

Jedda opened her mouth to say something but Hadea kept on walking until she was out of the room. Approaching her father later, Jedda was still thinking about what Hadea had been saying.

"I think Hadea just paid me a compliment", she said. "She told me I've been a very good Phantom."

"That indeed you were", her father agreed, putting a strong arm around her shoulders. "And you still are. You don't need the costume to be the Phantom. You just have to have faith in yourself and in who you want to be. I am very, very proud of you, my daughter."

She smiled happily at him, and he returned the smile, a rare thing with someone as serious as the Phantom. But he was truly happy to be back with his daughter and the rest of his extended family. Someday it would be Jedda's time to take over the mantle of the Phantom, but for her sake and his he was glad it wasn't today.


End file.
